Hry: Deprived candidates want jobs as JBT teachers

Candidates deprived of jobs as JBT teachers in Haryana in the illegal recruitment by the Om Prakash Chautala-led INLD government in 2000 have now asked the high court for immediate removal of 1,577 selected teachers, whose marks had been illegally increased. In all, 3,206 teachers were appointed.

Candidates deprived of jobs as JBT teachers in Haryana in the illegal recruitment by the Om Prakash Chautala-led INLD government in 2000 have now asked the high court for immediate removal of 1,577 selected teachers, whose marks had been illegally increased. In all, 3,206 teachers were appointed.

Petitioners Satbir Singh and around 200 others, whose petition challenging the appointments is already pending for hearing before the Punjab and Haryana HC, have also sought day-to-day hearing of the case, as the then CM Chautala and 54 others have been convicted by a special CBI court in Delhi. Declared guilty on January 16, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief OP Chautala and his MLA son Ajay Singh were among the 10 convicts who were handed 10-year jail on Tuesday, while others got less punishment.

Representing the petitioners, advocate Pankaj Nanhera has filed an application in the HC stating that since it has been clarified by the investigation officer (the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI) in a report that 1,577 of the selected junior basic trained (JBT) teachers were accommodated by increasing their marks, meritorious candidates whose names are on the genuine list of selected aspirants should immediately get their jobs.

"It has also been observed by the trial court (which sentenced Chautala and others) that the candidates who have adopted unfair means for selection should not be allowed to remain in job," says the application, adding that the illegal appointees were "co-conspirators" in the scam.

"We are going to file a criminal complaint against all the 1,577 appointed teachers and others involved in the conspiracy which took away our rightful jobs and ruined our precious years," said petitioner Satbir Singh, a resident of village Sitamai in Karnal district.